Easier than expected

Sustainability and certification—a complex undertaking

How do you embed sustainability and DGNB certification in a municipal project, what does it take, and which processes and actions need to be in place?

“Working with sustainability is exciting, but embedding it in a municipal project is difficult,” says Rikke Schønberg Bojesen, client lead for Botilbud Søndersø in Furesø Municipality.

Fast, easy rollout

Rikke and her team had not worked much with sustainability or DGNB certification before, so she was unsure about the complex process—whether Openframe could really help, and how hard it would be to roll out the platform on the project.

It only took a couple of hours’ introduction to the platform before Rikke and her sustainability lead were ready to launch Botilbud Søndersø in Openframe.

After one restart and a short on-site support visit from the Openframe advisor, the project was running.

Rolling out Openframe has, on the whole, been friction-free and beyond expectations, she says.

Rolling out Openframe has, on the whole, been friction-free and beyond expectations.

Rikke and her team chose Openframe to steer the sustainability and certification workflow for Botilbud Søndersø—a DKK 20.5 million project that is not only sustainable but also a timber building with timber façades and wood-fibre insulation. The project also includes Furesø Municipality’s own criteria, the voluntary sustainability class, and criteria for a research project on optimising bio-based materials, coordinated and documented in Openframe.

Intuitive platform

According to Rikke, rolling out the platform was easier because it feels very intuitive and quite different from the DGNB spreadsheet view. Newcomers to DGNB get strong guidance: certification, criteria, and how to meet each objective all live in Openframe. She did not need long to get comfortable, and lively contractor activity on the platform showed everyone came up to speed quickly without major friction.

There are many elements that need to be coordinated, and Openframe has been a great help.

Openframe for future projects

Rikke expects they will keep using Openframe when larger sustainability projects need certification—they want DGNB across projects.

How she describes Openframe:

• Easy and fast to implement
• Clear and concrete
• Better collaboration
• Dialogue lived in one place
• Strong support for the certification process

Project facts: Botilbud Søndersø, Kirke Værløse

Single-storey timber building with timber façade and wood-fibre insulation. Residential offer for 16 citizens with special needs, with shared spaces and a room for each resident including toilet, bathroom, and kitchenette.

Project-specific: The project receives support from Realdania’s fund for stronger sustainability in municipal building projects.